1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bottle for dispensing fluid, and more particularly a bottle of the type comprising a container, a flexible bag and a pump, for dispensing a product in fluid form stored so that it is protected from the air, and also to a method of manufacture.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of bottles for dispensing fluid, liquid or pasty products, the technique which consists in placing a flexible and deformable bag inside a bottle, the assembly being completed by an extraction pump or valve, is known. The bag is generally filled with the fluid after the bag and the bottle have been put together, and a gas may be introduced between the bag and the internal surface of the bottle so as to cause a determined amount of product to leave the bag upon actuation of the valve. In another technique, the space between the bag and the internal wall of the bottle communicates with the outside via a vent so as to maintain a pressure on the wall of the bag to make it easier to extract the product.
It has not been possible to develop any satisfactory technique for filling the bag before assembling it with the bottle. Although filling can be carried out more quickly in this case, putting together a previously-filled bag and a rigid bottle intended to contain it is extremely tricky, and this is why the conventional techniques consist in carrying out the filling after the bag and the bottle have been put together, despite the inherent drawbacks with these techniques. In particular, the neck of the bottle of the flexible bag has to be matched to the diameter of the pump used to extract the contents from the bag; the result of this is that the diameter of the neck is relatively narrow, which limits the rate at which the bag can be filled.
In such devices, use is often made of pumps which extract by suction without introducing air into the bag to compensate for the volume sucked out, the bag, which is made of elastically deformable material, progressively deforming as its volume reduces. The pump has to be put in place after the bag has been filled, and this leads to the presence of a certain volume of air in the upper part of the bag, which takes away from the accuracy and reliability of operation of the dispensing bottle. In particular, these devices are ill-suited to dispensing bottles for pharmaceutical products for which good uniformity of operation is indispensable.
Thus the patent FR-A-2.710.612 describes a dispensing bottle of the aforementioned type, comprising a flexible bag, a pump fixed on the neck of the bag, and a rigid casing in which is placed the bag, the neck of which protrudes above the upper edge of the base of the casing and is surrounded by a rigid cover secured to the base.
A dispensing bottle of the same type is described in patent FR-A-2.658.793, according to which the flexible bag contains a mesh intended to prevent the walls of the bag from sticking together. However, this device does not allow the bag to be emptied completely.
The patent FR-A-2.685.285 describes a rigid bottle into which a flexible bag has been introduced, which bag is then filled with a liquid product, then a pump without an air inlet is mounted on the inlet orifice of the bag and of the bottle.
The patent FR-A-2.668.756 relates to a method of producing a rigid bottle containing an elastically deformable bag, which is filled after the bag and the bottle have been put together. According to this patent, the pump, which operates by suction without introducing any compensating air into the bag, is put in place on the neck of the bag before the latter is introduced into the rigid bottle.
The patent FR-A-2.682.667 describes a stoppering device fitted to the opening of a receptacle, and associated with a metering device and with a brush, for example for applying nail varnish.